In particular, the President of Russia is very familiar with the structure of the station itself, Rafael Grossi noted WASHINGTON, November 21.
/tass/. Russian President Vladimir Putin knows perfectly well all the details of what is happening at the Zaporozhye NPP (ZAES). This was announced by the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi in an interview with CBS, broadcast on Sunday.
He was asked if Putin is familiar with what is happening at the NPP. "Absolutely," the head of the IAEA replied. "He knows every detail [of what is happening], which struck me." "In a conversation with him, I realized that he is very well informed not only about the structure of the plant itself, but also, very importantly, about access to electricity, external energy sources. This is an object that he knows very well."
The head of the IAEA was asked whether the agency's experts had the opportunity to freely perform their tasks at the Zaporozhye NPP. "Yes, you know, we are the IAEA," Grossi replied.
"There were areas where we were restricted," he added. "But everything we needed to see, we were able to see."
Grossi also pointed out the need to create a safety zone around the NPP in order to prevent the possibility of a nuclear catastrophe. "Until we protect this plant, the possibility of a nuclear catastrophe exists," he said. The head of the IAEA added that the shelling of the NPP continues. "And that's why I insist on creating a protective zone [around the NPP]. In essence, it means "don't attack the station," he said. According to Grossi, the situation in the area of the NPP is "unprecedented in many respects, <...> unstable and requires urgent action."
On October 11, Grossi visited St. Petersburg, where he met with Putin. Earlier, the Director General of the IAEA called contacts with the Russian leader extremely important from the point of view of ensuring the safety of nuclear power facilities, including the NPP. Grossi also visited Kiev twice, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the Armed Forces of Ukraine resumed shelling of the Zaporozhye NPP after a two-month break. According to the ministry, only on November 19-20, the Ukrainian military fired 25 shells at the station, one of which hit the roof of the special corps No. 2, where nuclear fuel is stored. The shooters were suppressed by return fire, the radiation background in the area of the nuclear power plant is normal, the department added.
The NPP is the largest currently operating in Europe. Russia took control of it on February 28, in the first days of a special military operation in Ukraine. The station continued to operate normally. In early September, it was visited by an IAEA mission led by Grossi. After the delegation left the facility, agency employees remained there as observers. Later, the IAEA published a report calling for the creation of a safety zone around the NPP to prevent emergencies due to hostilities.
On Sunday, in an interview with the BFM TV channel, Grossi said that the IAEA experts expect to make a detour of the NPP on Monday morning to assess the damage after the latest shelling, if the situation allows.
